Since the initial introduction of transgenic animals as models for disease (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,803 to Leder), transgenic animals have been found useful for a variety of different purposes.
Transgenic non-human mammals have been described for the production of therapeutic proteins of interest that can be collected from, for example, milk. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,344,596; 6,339,183; 6,255,554; 6,204,431; 6,166,288; and 5,959,171.
Transgenic birds have been described for the production of exogenous proteins into eggs for subsequent collection. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,822.
Transgenic frogs have been described as useful for the detection of endocrine disrupters in the environment. See, e.g., US Patent Application Publication 2006/0101528, Transgenic frogs have also been described as a model for evaluating drug efficacy. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,780.
Transgenic birds have been described as useful for, among other things, the production of exogenous proteins that can be collected from eggs laid by such birds. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,822.
Transgenic zebrafish have been described as useful for developmental studies and the testing of toxic compounds, and as classroom teaching aids. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,458. Transgenic zebrafish expressing a fluorescent protein are commercially available as the GLOFISH® from the Carolina Biological Supply Company (Burlington, N.C., USA).
Transgenic mice and certain other animals that express light-emitting fusion proteins are suggested for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes (e.g., drug screening and discovery) in W. Kaelin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,176,345.